Aboveground swimming pool construction

ABSTRACT

AN ABOVEGROUND SWIMMING POOL IN WHICH A PERIPHERAL WALL STRUCTURE IS SUPPORTED BY A PLURALITY OF SUPPORT FRAMES AND A PERIPHERAL RIM STRUCTURE INCLUDING A DEPENDING SKIRT AND AN OUTWARDLY PROJECTING DECK IS SUPPORTED BY A PLURALITY OF SUBFRAMES, EACH SUBFRAME BEING AFFIXED TO A SUPPORT FRAME BY MEANS ENABLING ADJUSTMENT OF THE LEVEL OF THE PERIPHERAL RIM STRUCTURE WITH RESPECT TO A CORRESPONDING SUPPORT FRAME SUCH THAT THE PERIPHERAL RIM STRUCTURE MAY BE MAINTAINED AT A CONSTANT HORIZONTAL LEVEL WHILE THE LEVEL OF THE SUPPORT FRAMES MAY VARY.

Jan. 12, 1971 3 3,553,744

ABOVEGROUND SWIMMING POOL CONSTRUCTION Filed June 23, 1969 2Sheets-Sheet 1 g INVENTOR. 0) EDGAR T. GlL L EN Jan. 12, 1971 E. T.GILLEN I ABOVEGROUND SWIMMING POOL CONSTRUCTION 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FiledJune 23 O INVENTOR.

EDGAR T. GlL l EN United States Patent 3,553,744 ABOVEGROUND SWIMMINGPOOL CONSTRUCTION Edgar T. Gillen, North Plainfield, N.J., assignor, bymesne assignments, to Playground Corporation of America, Long IslandCity, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed June 23, 1969, Ser. No.835,380 Int. Cl. E04h 3/16 US. Cl. 4172.19 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE An aboveground swimming pool in which a peripheral wallstructure is supported by a plurality of support frames and a peripheralrim structure including a depending skirt and an outwardly projectingdeck is supported by a plurality of subframes, each subframe beingafixed to a support frame by means enabling adjustment of the level ofthe peripheral rim structure with respect to a corresponding supportframe such that the peripheral rim structure 'may be maintained at aconstant horizontal level while the level of the support frames mayvary.

The invention relates generally to swimming pools and pertains, morespecifically, to swimming pools which rest upon the ground and are knownas aboveground swimming pools and which are readily erected anddismantled for ease of storage and for portability.

Aboveground swimming pools have become increasingly popular, primarilybecause of their relatively low cost, their ease of installation andtheir ability to be readily dismantled and removed from the installationsite.

Aboveground swimming pools have been limited in size in view of theexcessive outward pressures placed upon the walls of such pools by largevolumes of water within the pool. Additionally, it has been necessary torestrict installation of such pools to relatively level sites.

It is an important object of the invention to provide an abovegroundswimming pool having an improved wall support structure which canwithstand the pressures imposed by the large volumes of water containedin a relatively large pool.

Another object of the invention is to provide an aboveground swimmingpool which may be installed successfully on ground which is notcompletely level.

A further object of the invention is to provide an aboveground swimmingpool including a wall support structure which is simple in constructionand readily erected with minimum effort and without special tools orskills.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a wall structureas set forth above which is selectively adjustable to compensate forvariations in the level of the ground surface at any particularinstallation site.

The above objects, as well as further objects and advantages, areattained by the invention which may be described briefly as anaboveground swimming pool comprising a peripheral wall structureincluding a base portion at ground level and a vertical wall portionextending from the base portion upwardly to an uppermost peripheraledge, a plurality of support frames spaced along the wall structure,each support frame including a forward vertical member juxtaposed withthe vertical wall portion externally of the pool and a horizontal basemember extending outwardly at ground level, means for attaching theperipheral wall structure to the support frames, a peripheral rimstructure including a depending vertical skirt portion overlapping theuppermost peripheral edge of the peripheal wall structure, a pluralityof rim support sub-frames, each sub-frame including a rim supportportion, means Patented Jan. 12, 1971 for aflixing each sub-frame to acorresponding support frame with the rim support portion at any selectedone of a plurality of levels with respect to the ground level such thatthe rim support portions of all of the sub-frames are at the samehorizontal level independent of any variations in the level of the baseportions of the support frames, means for afiixing the peripheral rimstructure to the rim support portions, the peripheral rim structurebeing horizontally level by virtue of the horizontally leveled rimsupport portions, and a pool liner juxtaposed with the peripheral wallstructure and the overlapping skirt portion of the peripheral rimstructure.

The invention will be more fully understood and still further objectsand advantages thereof will become apparent in the following detaileddescription of an embodiment of the invention illustrated in theaccompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an aboveground swimming pool constructedin accordance with the invention, with portions being cut away forillustrative purposes;

FIG. 2 is an end elevational view of the swimming pool;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged, cross-sectional view of a portion of the swimmingpool illustrating the wall support structure;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view illustrating the variouscomponent parts of the peripheral wall and its support structure.

Referring now to the drawing, and especially to FIGS. 1 and 2 thereof,an aboveground swimming pool constructed in accordance with theinvention is illustrated generally at 10 and is shown erected upon thesurface of ground 12.

Pool 10 has a peripheral wall structure 14 which includes vertical wallportions 16 extending upwardly from the surface of ground 12, the wallstructure 14 preferably being in the form of metal sheets. A pluralityof support frames 18 are placed upon the surface of the ground andspaced along the Wall structure. The wall structure 14 is aflixed to theframes 18 to establish the lateral boundaries of the swimming pool.

A peripheral rim structure 20 is located around the uppermost extent ofthe wall structure 14 and includes an outwardly projecting deck 22extending around the perimeter of the pool. A pool liner 24, preferablyfabricated of flexible plastic sheet material, provides the pool bottom26 and pool sides 28 and extends outwardly along the deck 22 atperipheral liner portions 30. A deck pad 32 is placed over theperipheral portions of the liner to provide a peripheral walking andseating area around the perimeter of the pool. The deck 22 is surroundedby a protective railing 34 and access to the deck and the pool isprovided by way of a staircase 3 6 between the deck 22 and the surfaceof the ground 12.

Turning now to FIGS. 3 and 4, as well as to FIGS. 1 and 2, theperipheral wall structure 14 includes a base portion in the form ofinwardly directed flange 38 which rests upon the surface of ground, andthe vertical wall portion 16 extends upwardly from the flange to anuppermost peripheral edge 39.

Each support frame 18 is seen to be fabricated from ordinary angle stockand includes a forward vertical member 40 juxtaposed with the verticalwall portion 16 externally of the pool, and a horizontal base member 42extending outwardly at ground level and resting upon the surface of theground. A first brace member 44 extends between the forward verticalmember 40 and the horizontal base :member 42, the first brace member 44being afiixed, as by welding, for example, to the forward verticalmember 40 at 46 and to the horizontal base member at 48.

A rearward vertical member 50 extends upwardly from the base member 42and meets with an uppermost horizontal member 52 which interconnects therearward vertical member 50 with the forward vertical member 40 suchthat the support frame 18 is in the form of a rectangle. A second bracemember 54 is afiixed at one end 56 to the rearward vertical member 50and at the other end 58 thereof to the uppermost horizontal member 52 toenhance the rigidity and effectiveness of the support frame 18 withoutthe addition of an excessive number of structural members and withoutrequiring an excessively heavy construction.

The vertical wall portions 16 of the peripheral wall structure 14 areremovably attached to the foreward vertical members 40 of the supportframes 18 by nut and bolt assemblies, each including a bolt 60 passingthrough the respective elements and a nut 62. Thus, the combination ofthe support frames 18 and the peripheral wall structure 14 flfllXCdthereto provide adequate lateral support for the pool liner 24 and willeasily withstand the outward forces imposed by the pressure of the waterwithin the pool. In order to enhance the ability of the support frames18 to resist being pushed outwardly along the sur face to the ground 12by the force of the water within the pool 10, each support frame 18 ispositively interconnected with a corresponding support frame 18 at theopposite side of the pool by means of a cable 64 affixed at each end 66thereof to a respective opposite support frame 18. All of the cables 64extend below the pool liner 24.

Pool is constructed for erection at a wide variety of sites, many ofwhich may not be totally level. Pool 10 is readily erected at siteswhere the level of the surface of the ground may vary, by virtue of theindependent nature of each of the support frames 18. Thus, each supportframe 18 need not necessarily be installed precisely at the same levelas any other support frame 18, and all of the support frames will restupon the surface of the ground despite the variations in the level ofthat surface. However, it is important to keep the peripheral rimstructure at a constant level even where variations in ground level arepresent. Hence, the peripheral rim structure 20 is supported by aplurality of rim support subframes 70, each subframe 70 being afiixedadjacent the top of a support frame 18.

Each subframe 70 includes a rim support portion provided in the form ofthe upper surface 72 of an inverted U-shaped configuration whichincludes a horizontal deck support member 74 and depending vertical legs76. The depending vertical legs 76 are juxtaposed with the forward andrearward vertical members and 50 of a corresponding support frame 18 andmeans are provided, in the form of nut and bolt assemblies 78, forafiixing each depending leg 76 of a subframe 70 to a correspond ingvertical member 40 or 50 of the support frame 18. Each bolt of the nutand bolt assemblies 78 passes through a matching pair of apertureschosen from a series of apertures 80 in the depending legs 76 and acorresponding series of apertures 82 in the vertical members 40 and 50.A suflicient number of such apertures 80 and 82 are provided so that thelevel of each sub-frame 70 may be selectievly varied with respect to thesupport frames 18 upon which the subframe is affixed by merely matchingselected apertures 80 and 82. In this manner, the level of theperipheral rim structure 20 supported by the subframes 70 may be keptconstant and horizontal while the elevation of the various supportframes 18 may vary.

The peripheral rim structure 20 includes a depending skirt portion 84which overlaps the uppermost peripheral edge 39 of the wall structure14. The skirt portion 84 is moveable with respect to the peripheral edge39 so that as the peripheral rim structure is raised or lowered withrespect to the peripheral wall structure by the raising or or loweringof a subframe 70 with respect to a corresponding support frame 18, theamount of overlap between the skirt portion 84 and the Wall structure 14may change; however, sufiicient overlap is provided to assure that thepool liner 24 is always backed-up by a continuous support surfaceprovided by the wall structure and the skirt portion.

A horizontal deck portion 86 extends outwardly from the skirt portion 84and is removably affixed to the horizontal deck support member 74 of thesubframe 70 by means of nut and bolt assemblies, each including a bolt87 and a nut 88. Proper location of each subframe 70 with respect to itscorresponding support frame 18 will assure that the deck portion '86remains horizontal and level throughout the perimeter of the pool 10even through the ground level may vary. The pool liner 24 extends overthe horizontal deck portion 86 and is removably adhered to the deckportion 86 by an adhesive or by an adhesive tape (not shown). The deckpad 32 overlies the peripheral liner portions 30 and the horizontal deckportion 86 to complete the deck 22 and is removably adhered to theperipheral liner portions 30.

At least some of thesubframes 70 are provided with a rearwardly placedupwardly extending upright column 90 which, together with verticallyadjustable corner posts 92, support horizontal rail members 94 toprovide the peripheral protective railing 34.

Pool 10 is readily assembled by merely erecting the support frames 18and peripheral wall structure 14, adjusting the subframes 70 withrespect to their corresponding support frames 18 to level the peripheralrim structure 20 and placing the pool liner 24 and deck pad 32 in theirproper positions. The pool is readily dismantled and transported orstored since no single structural element is so heavy or bulky that itcannot be handled with ease. Additionally, ordinary tools may be usedfor assembling or disassembling the various nut and bolt assem bies toerect or dismantle the pool. The above described pool construction maybe employed in very large pools as well as in relatively small pools.Thus, standard size pools employing the above described constructionhave been made approximately seventy-five feet long, forty feet wide andfour feet deep. Large pools have been constructed up to approximatelyone hundred and sixty-five feet long by forty feet wide by four feetdeep and even larger pools are feasible by merely multiplying the numberof component parts employed.

It is to be understood that the above detailed description of anembodiment of the invention is provided by way of example only. Variousdetails of design and construction may be modified without departingfrom the true spirit and scope of the invention.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property orprivilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. An aboveground swimming pool comprising:

a peripheral wall structure including a base portion at ground level anda vertical wall portion extending from the base portion upwardly to anuppermost peripheral edge;

a plurality of support frames spaced along the wall structure, eachsupport frame including a forward vertical member juxtaposed with thevertical wall portion externally of the pool, and a horizontal basemember extending outwardly at ground level;

means for attaching the peripheral wall structure to the support frames;

a peripheral rim structure including a depending vertical skirt portionoverlapping the uppermost peripheral edge of the peripheral wallstructure;

a plurality of rim support sub-frames, each sub-frame including a rimsupport portion;

means for affixing each sub-frame to a corresponding support frame withthe rim support portion at any selected one of a plurality of levelswith respect to the ground level such that the rim support portions ofall the sub-frames are at the same horizontal level independent of anyvariations in the level of the base portions of the support frames;

means for affixing the peripheral rim structure to the rim supportportions, the peripheral rim structure being horizontally level byvirtue of the horizontally leveled rim support portions; and

a pool liner juxtaposed with the peripheral 'wall structure andoverlapping skirt portion of the peripheral rim structure.

2. The aboveground swimming pool of claim 1 wherein each support frameincludes a brace member extending between and affixed to the forwardvertical member and the horizontal base member.

3. The aboveground swimming pool of claim 1 wherein each support frameis rectangular and includes a rearward vertical member extendingupwardly from the base member and an uppermost horizontal memberinterconnecting the forward and rearward vertical members above the basemember.

4. The aboveground swimming pool of claim 3 wherein each support frameincludes:

a first brace member afiixed at one end thereof to the forward verticalmember and at the other end thereof to the base member; and

a second brace member affixed at one end thereof to the rearwardvertical member and at the other end thereof to the uppermost horizontalmember.

5. The aboveground swimming pool of claim 3 whereeach subframe has aninverted U-shaped configuration including a horizontal deck supportmember and depending vertical legs, the depending vertical legs of eachsub-frame being juxtaposed with and affixed to the forward and rearwardvertical members of a corresponding support frame by said afiixingmeans, the deck support members of all of the subframes being at thesame horizontal level by virtue of said affixing means; and

the peripheral rim structure includes a horizontal deck portionextending outwardly from the depending skirt portion, the deck portionbeing level by virtue of the horizontally leveled deck support members.

'6. The aboveground swimming pool of claim 5 wherein each support frameincludes:

a first brace member affixed at one end thereof to the forward verticalmember and at the other end thereof to the base member; and

a second brace member affixed. at one end thereof to the rearwardvertical member and at the other end thereof to the uppermost horizontalmember.

7. The aboveground swimming pool of claim 6 where in at least some ofthe subframes include a rearwardly placed upright rail-support column.

8. The aboveground swimming pool of claim 1 whereeach subframe includesa deck support portion extending outwardly with respect to theperipheral wall structure, the deck support portions of all of thesubframes being at the same horizontal level by virtue of said atfixingmeans; and

the peripheral rim structure includes a horizontal deck portionextending outwardly with respect to the depending skirt portion, thedeck portion being level by virtue of the horizontally leveled decksupport portions.

9. The aboveground swimming pool of claim 8 wherein each support frameincludes a brace member extending between and afiixed to the forwardvertical member and the horizontal base member.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS LAVERNE D. GEIGER, PrimaryExaminer H. K. ARTIS, Assistant Examiner US Cl. X.R.

